A Thief of Nightshade(64)
Aislinn hadn’t said anything about it.
He looked at Given. “You told them?”
“It was the only way I could convince them to rescue the two of you from Koldavere. You must trust him, Aislinn. What other choice do you have?”
He reluctantly handed it over. It hadn’t been easy to keep it out of sight considering that he had lacked pockets for most of his journey here. He’d tucked it into the metal of his new appendage.
Oberon took the Oran and held his left hand over it, whispering in the old language. The dragonfly flickered to life with a rosy glow. After a few moments, the light grew and covered the Fae King, brightening until Aislinn had to shield his eyes. When it finally faded, Oberon stood before them as Grant, a changed look in his eyes and Aislinn knew then that he’d seen everything Aubrey and Jullian had already been through. He fastened the Oran around his neck, tucking it into his shirt. “I will give this back when I return, Aislinn.”
Oberon leaned down and hugged Given, kissing her on the cheek. “My precious little girl, so grown up.” He touched the plate of armor on her arm.
“For all the grief I’ve given you, know that I am proud of who you’ve become. I love you.”
“Be careful,” she whispered. “I love you too.”
Oberon
touched
her
face
affectionately one last time before turning his back to them and disappearing.
Aislinn looked dumbly at the empty space where Oberon had just been. He’d only seen that kind of power in Tabor and Saralia. Even the goblins and their King relied on the Fae queen’s magic to do their bidding. He heard a sniffle and looked over to see Given wipe her eyes.
“He’ll come back,” Aislinn said gently.
She glared at him, her eyes red and puffy still from crying earlier. “You think that’s all that weighs on my heart? Even if we win, I will lose everything. Yet, I would sacrifice my own life if it would bring Avalar back from where she lingers on the edge of death. Do you know what’s happened to her? To Avalar? Or have you been so self-centered these past ten years that you’ve missed it? The forests are fading, Aislinn, along with the magic that weaves all of us together, whether we like it or not. The blood magic Saralia wields hasn’t lost its hold; it’s now tethered to Avalar eternally. There is no grip to weaken. Tabor knows this, as does Oberon. They both fear what is to come and nothing in our world can save us. My uncle has all but given up hope. When I heard that the Prince’s love had strength enough to cross over, I knew Aubrey was Avalar’s only chance and I’ll be damned before I let your cruelty or my own fears keep me from doing what I must to help her defeat Saralia. But I don’t have to put up with your cruelty. I’ve been yelled at, hit, kicked and abused long enough. I wasn’t saved from it so I could tolerate it from you.”
Aislinn swallowed hard. Truth is, he hadn’t noticed that Avalar was suffering.
In fact, he’d thought the opposite of Avalar, just like she’d said. “Given, I—”
“Leave me alone,” she said. “You’ve done enough.”
He didn’t try to stop Given when she turned to leave him alone with Aubrey— he was too ashamed.
Chapter Twenty-
Three
AUBREY HEARD FOOTSTEPS ON THE
STAIRS and felt someone behind her. “I just want to be alone right now,” she said, not caring much who it was or how they’d feel about her curt tone.
“Even if I promise to just stand here quietly?” Hands came down on her shoulders, the right one with the distinctive weight of Grant’s class ring.
Somehow, this small thing dissolved her numbness. She turned to see him smiling down at her.
“Grant, what are you doing here?”
This surprised her. Grant had never liked Sam.
“Walk with me.” He draped his arm around her, guiding her away from the wood line and around the side of the house.
She silently agreed, grateful to have an excuse to leave. They walked without conversation for a good ten minutes or so.
When she shivered against the sudden chill in the night air, he pulled off his coat and gave it to her, pulling it snug before returning his arm to her shoulder.
“You miss him,” Grant said. It wasn’t a question.
She nodded. “He respected you deeply. I don’t know if he ever told you that or not. You think he favored Harry over you but that wasn’t it. He saw Ai...”
Suddenly it dawned on Aubrey that she wasn’t sure if Jullian really had a brother or not. He’d never said anything about him that she could recall. What if it had all been in her head?
“What is it?” Grant asked.
“I don’t know. It’s nothing.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” He smiled with tenderness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen since before Jullian’s death.
Grant had been so crushed. Just before the graveside service she’d overheard Grant telling a family friend that he felt responsible—that he should have stayed with him that morning.
“Harry reminded Jullian of his brother. But, I don’t know if he had a brother or if I imagined it. I know that must not make sense, but I—”
“Aislinn.”
Grant